Hedge trimmer - is this decent?

I have an old school corded Ryobi extendable hedge trimmer, and it's a decent bit of kit. Has been going strong for 6+ years now.
When you've got both extensions on it, it's pretty weighty though! (Or, I suppose, it would be more accurate to say it has a lot of moment.)

Generally speaking I think Ryobi have a good reputation too. I sort of want to move to a collection of cordless tools using the same battery (mainly for the mower). But I'm too much of a mingebag to make the move while existing tools are working fine, and they're all being stubbornly reliable.
 
I have a few bits of their kit, works as expected and no issues. They can feel a little flimsy at times and have cheap plastics, but they work.
 
I've got a non extending version and it's been excellent, i've been amazed at it's power. It'll go through some really thick branches without any fuss at all.

mine seems to last forever with a 5ah battery as well.
 
The reason for looking at that is largely because of the claimed power and the extension. I've got a corded hedge trimmer that I bought from B&Q a few years ago for about £40, it's OK but it's not particularly powerful and won't go through some of the thicker stuff. It's also a pain because it can't easily reach higher stuff and the back of a deeper hedge. The adverts make this one look ideal.
 
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ChrisD. said:
I have a few bits of their kit, works as expected and no issues. They can feel a little flimsy at times and have cheap plastics, but they work.
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Aye ive got this hedge trimmer and agree with this. Prefer my makita short length one, but the pole mounted ryobi is a lot cheaper and I only use occasionally
 
Lack of power is the biggest complaint of cordless so this looks better the one I currently use (not one of these) its ok for light use but not much more. Professional petrol Stihl etc are the rolls royce but with a price to match (they're noisy too)
 
I also have a titan one - mains powered. My next purchase will be cordless and ext pole and OP seems to have chosen these criteria. Looks like a great choice, do report back. I cut through the cord on my current one with my last use, so I'm keen to consider the upgrade too.
 
***F1ZZY*** said:
I cut through the cord on my current one with my last use, so I'm keen to consider the upgrade too.
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I did that with my original corded one but it was a simple repair, open it up, strip out the cut off length and rewire it.

Then my wife did the same thing. So I did it again.

My next door neighbour was trimming her hedges the same summer and I said to watch out for the wire because they’re really easy to catch. Later the same year she knocked on the door and asked me to fix it for her :)
 
***F1ZZY*** said:
I also have a titan one - mains powered. My next purchase will be cordless and ext pole and OP seems to have chosen these criteria. Looks like a great choice, do report back. I cut through the cord on my current one with my last use, so I'm keen to consider the upgrade too.
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One of the reasons I went cordless. It’s also way easier and they are pretty powerful now.
 
father had the titan mains one - that was a mistake it has no clutch, which apparently stops the motor or pulley wheels taking the full force when you are chewing through something tough.

inevitably it failed outside screwfix 2 year warranty - which isn't that long for domestic use (perhaps he used it every 3-4months) they gave a goodwill gesture of £20 I think it was.
 
Feek said:
I did that with my original corded one but it was a simple repair, open it up, strip out the cut off length and rewire it.

Then my wife did the same thing. So I did it again.

My next door neighbour was trimming her hedges the same summer and I said to watch out for the wire because they’re really easy to catch. Later the same year she knocked on the door and asked me to fix it for her :)
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I did that on electric one the other week twice infact must have hit it on the down as well as the upstroke its the first time I've ever done it so wasn't too pleased havn't used a corded one in years. I once had a woman tell me in no uncertain terms not to cut through the electric flex or else, and then proceded to cut through the thing herself.

More recent appliances come with a pre-moulded plug at the appliance end you unscrew the cover and swap over. Of course you have to buy a new lead in the process (unless you want a very short lead). You'd almost think they want you to spend more money rather than repair it yourself, wouldn't you.
 
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Blackjack Davy said:
Lack of power is the biggest complaint of cordless so this looks better the one I currently use (not one of these) its ok for light use but not much more. Professional petrol Stihl etc are the rolls royce but with a price to match (they're noisy too)
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I am not sure what to say about power. For sure, the battery powered tools are not as powerful, but in my experience they are powerful enough. The one thing you do not want to do, though, is let the hedge get out of control. I have to use a pole chainsaw if that happens.
 
Arrived a couple of days ago and I just spent five minutes trimming the top of a hedge down and tidying the front off a bit. This would normally take me at least half an hour to do and involve me perching precariously on a small stepladder whilst struggling to reach far back enough at the top.

Literally five minutes trimming did the same job. It'll need more doing but I'll leave that until later in the year, this is enough for the midsummer trim. When I do it again later, I'll take at least another foot off the top and trim the front back a long way as well.

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I didn't even need to use the additional extension pole, the trimmer and the handle was enough. Yes, it is significantly heavier than the small trimmer I've used before but the shoulder strap really helps that and even with my weak arm, it's perfectly usable.
 
I just got me a Flymo version of the same, have a beech tree out front that I like to keep in the shape of a willy, shh don't tell the neighbours. However I fell off my ladder last year pruning it and nearly did myself a serious injury but lucky I managed to fall onto a hedge instead of the pavement.
They're quite heavy beasts, and the flymo doesn't have a strap, but are so much quicker to use as you've stated..
 
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